Doomsday show shot in Crows Nest bush
IF YOU want to know what Australia will be like after the total collapse of our environmental and economic systems, head to Crows Nest.
In the past week, the town hosted the Frost over cast and crew shooting scenes for a new post-apocalyptic action drama, The Wandering.
Director and producer Corey Higgins said Crows Nest was an ideal location to capture the mood of a society in ruin.
“I have been over the moon with the types of shots we are getting,” he said.
“We are filming on a private property that is well suited, with a dry landscape.
“While the actual town is really nice, there are hidden gems that suit the aesthetic we are going for.”
The Wandering is about two sisters who narrowly escape an attack on their settlement and head off into badlands in
search of salvation.
The script was inspired by Mad Max and the biker drama Sons of Anarchy.
“We are filming similar to how they shot The Revenant, with lots of natural light. We timed filming with the sunrise and sunset so there is nothing artificial about it,” he said.
The show was initially set in a summer but the frosty conditions led to a hasty re-write.
“I was not expecting it to be this cold,” Mr Higgins said.
Filming wraps up today before the company moves into eight months of sound and video editing. The Wandering was produced on a shoe-string budget and cost about $5000 to date.
About 24 Crows Nest residents were used as extras.
Mr Higgins will cut together a 40-50-minute pilot episode to pitch to television networks and streaming services. He said the post-apocalyptic setting was fertile space to explore the human psyche.
“I wanted to focus on the drama and the humanity of the situation,” Mr Higgins said.
“If we do not have mobile phones and technology, how can we connect with each other? When you can trust anyone, you have eventually have to start to trust someone.”